Do you eat papayas?
if you can get them...
I highly recommend this delicious fruit
our papaya trees attract roosting birds...
and flower lovely blooms and give us food
this tree is a female...
her flowers bloom close to the trunk
it is a larger bloom than...
her male counterpart...
whose flowers are smaller...
and bloom on long stems away from the trunk...
never to become papayas, but with a job to do, nonetheless
after the male flowers, bees and other pollinating insects do their jobs...
the flower of the female papaya tree slowly grows into...
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beautiful little globes of fruit...
growing larger until...
they become yellow as they ripen
I waited for this little one of the smaller species
just big enough to hold in my hand...
and packing a lot of edible sweetness
I eat some of the seeds along with the flesh...
full of papain enzymes = good digestion
lots of vitamins ~ antimicrobial ~ boosts immunity
expels and prevents parasites (I put a few seeds in my dogs' food)
assists in restoration of good bacteria in the gut
the skin is used as a wound treatment
and, of course,
I always leave a bit in the boat of the skin for my chickens
our two rescued battery cage hens didn't know what to make of it...
they didn't know what real food is...
I'll tell you about them in another post
and did you know...?
papaya leaves are just as beneficial...
used as a tea
although very bitter...
a little bit steeped in hot water goes a long way
the seeds are a wonderful substitute for black pepper...
full of benefits...
they can be washed under running water in a strainer...
lightly dried with a clean towel...
spread out on wax paper to keep from sticking...
and let air dry for about a week to two weeks
they will become dry and crunchy...
easily ground to course or fine...
you can sprinkle on anything you please...
and get some healthy saponins that are antimicrobial
if you are interested in more information on papaya...
just type in papaya benefits in your web browser...
or for a quick look, check out
if you live far enough south or in a tropical land...
you can easily grow your own
papaya trees are fast growing...
giving fruit in just several months
just take a dried seed and plant it in good soil in a pot...
replant when it has several leaves on the tiny trunk
May your day, or night be ever so sweet in God's grace.
